Provided you want to pay double for it.Whatever you get, make sure it's brushless. Much more efficient, and more power than a comparable brushed motor.
Just about all brushed drivers are plenty capable performers, at half the price of brushless.
Member
Provided you want to pay double for it.Whatever you get, make sure it's brushless. Much more efficient, and more power than a comparable brushed motor.
Just about all brushed drivers are plenty capable performers, at half the price of brushless.
Gerry
JointCAM
Member
I've used a bunch of different drills over the years and now I'm pretty well settled on Makita's. My last 4 drills or so have been Makita's and they are hard to kill. I only use 18v's though as anything larger gets too heavy when using all day. I like some of Festool's products, especially the track saw and sanders, but I just can't justify the prices on others....like the drills.
As far as the impact driver goes it's a must have for cabinet assembly and installation. It's really the opposite of what you'd expect, its actually harder to strip out screws with the impact than a regular drill. The way it works it makes driving the screw much easier and less likely to strip IME. Granted there are guys who have a feel for using a tool...and guys who don't, (still surprises me occasionally when trying to train someone who just doesn't get it). So I'm sure there are plenty of cases of stripping screws and shearing heads off and all sorts of other extreme things. But in all honestly if you have a feel for the tool, use good quality fasteners, an understand what pre-drilling means....those should be very rare events. I use thousands of screws a year and can't remember shearing a head off. Certainly strip one here and there, but usually b/c it's an odd angle like a pocket hole or something. So get yourself one and you'll never look back.
good luck,
JeffD
Contributor
I have the 12V Li ion DeWalt impact driver and like it. It's light weight and has the correct amount of torque for furniture work. A couple of people have proposed air tools, but I much prefer a tool without a tail. It's easier to manipulate a cordless impact driver, and the 12V is small and lightweight.
I also have the 20V impact driver but only use it for bigger stuff.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
Something must be wrong. I live in AZ and I leave batteries in 6 different Bosch 12V tools and I've never had that happen. They usually go months between charges with infrequent use. If yours is less than 3 years old its still under warranty.Originally Posted by Robert Engel
Member
I did a ton of looking for my only set of cordless tools and I decided on the Hilti 12V line. Drill, impact driver, screw driver all came in the kit and they are amazing. I realized that for my needs, not only do I not need a 18V impact driver, but most of the time it is simply too powerful. I will likely never need to drive half inch lags with it.. Just wood screws. Beyond that, its way easier to hold a comfortable 12v tool than a big clunky 18V with a 5 cell battery. They have plenty of power for everything I need and if they happen to not be enough, I grab my corded drill. I went with Hilti because they are a pro quality brand that hasn't been watered down like DeWalt and Milwaukee.
Guest
Not quite.
I think just a drill, a charger, and two nicad batteries used to cost me $200. The brushless drill and impact kit with a charger and two li-ion batteries cost $400. So a little bit more, but a long ways from double.
Still a better setup, you can run smaller mah batteries and get a similar run time. You can run one less cell and have similar power. Less battery weight means less operator fatigue. Tough to put a dollar value on that. Brushless motors also have a longer service life. Certainly a good example of you get what you pay for.
To be fair, I'm weird. I have three drills and three impacts on my bench because changing bits/tips takes too long. I wouldn't I mind a couple more of each. I don't care what they cost so long as the value is there. True of any tool that is within financial grasp. I've bought enough lesser quality tools to know that they are too expensive in the long run.
I agree with Jeff, an impact is easier to control the torque of than a drill. Little screws you can just give it a couple of clunks of the impact and you know the torque. You don't hop in your car and mash the accelerator to the floor and leave it there. Same with driving a screw, you don't bottom the trigger unless you need to.
The noise is relative. I work in a cabinet shop and wear hearing protection all day long. It pales in comparison to just about every other tool in the shop.
Contributor
Terry (and anyone else who is interested), if you can wait a couple of months until Father's Day then Bosch will be launching the 12v brushless impact driver PS42. It's due out in June and having the brushless motor is worth waiting for.
"If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"
Member
The newest model Ridgid is $159 for the same setup, so you payed 2.5x more than I did.Not quite.
I think just a drill, a charger, and two nicad batteries used to cost me $200. The brushless drill and impact kit with a charger and two li-ion batteries cost $400. So a little bit more, but a long ways from double.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18...9624/206349868
To be fair, the brushless Ridgids are only $279, so not quite double. But close.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-GE...9205/206127587
I really wanted to get a brushless Makita set, as I've been a long time Makita user. But I couldn't justify the price difference, especially if Ridgid provides free batteries under their lifetime warranty.
I also work in a cabinet shop, and impact drivers are used and abused heavily every day. I've yet to see a brushed drill or driver have a motor failure in my 20 years in the industry, so while it's true that they may have a longer service life, does anyone really need it?Brushless motors also have a longer service life. Certainly a good example of you get what you pay for.
I see brushless as a luxury, not a necessity. If you have a driver in your hand all day and go through a lot of batteries, than it may pay dividends for you, but for the average user, a brushed driver will give similar performance at half the price.
Last edited by Gerry Grzadzinski; 02-13-2016 at 8:07 AM.
Gerry
JointCAM
Guest
I'm not going to bash brands, but if you feel like your $250 savings was worth it, then who am I to argue. Three and a half years on the current set of Panasonics.
Let me know how that lifetime warranty works out when the Home Depot stops carrying that model too.
Member
I have owned just about every brand out there, and so far, the longest lasting has been Panasonic. By far! I have several of their drills from the early to mid 90's still, and may still have an original battery!
Panasonic has in my experience the very best battery technology. They are lesser known, and the dont have a full complement of varios tools like Milwaulkee, Makita, Bosch, etc... And replacement batteries are reasonable.
Their actual tools are top notch in quality.
It's too early to tell how all these Li-Ion tools will fare life wise, but i am betting they wont outlast my Panasonics.
All that said, I did buy a couple of the Festool products- i have their current impact- reasonably powerful, quieter than most, and smoother than others for sure. Battery run time is excellent.
I also have the newest little unit , the TSC, which has great run time, amazing power for a 10v tool, and is very versatile. It is my new "go-to" tool for inside of cabinet work- it is small and has a level of finesse nothing else touches. It is however, not an impact.
I only bought the Festools for the versatility factor of the tools, and attachments, very handy.
I have their basic 15v drill, it is underwhelming to say the least, and the annoying whine out of it when it reaches its torque limit which is embarrassingly low in my opinion is aggravating.
Their newest 18v PDC is a whole 'nuther animal! It will break your wrist if your not careful with a big bit in low range.
The real beauty of Festool tools though, is that if your going to keep it for a long time, batteries and service are far and away the cheapest you will find!
Makita's in my experience should just go to the crusher. Batteries are terrible quality, horrendously expensive when they die, which is quite often.
I wont buy another "Ridgid" anything. Lifetime warranty, blah blah blah. As soon as there is a problem, "did you buy it here? Where is your receipt? Did you register your tool online? Warranty only applies if you did.You will have to box it and ship it to service center prepaid. " yadayadayada.
Of course i bought it here. I dont have time to register it- shouldnt be my job, i have never registered anything myself personally- ever. I dont have time. Its your product, that only you sell, where do you think i got it?
Their warranty isnt worth the breath they expend to tell you about it.
Most of their tools are "ok" quality, but just toss it in the trash when it dies, and buy new, its cheaper in the long run.
I have had 1 Festool tool repaired, and guess what?
Here is a novel idea, It becomes registered to YOU when you buy it, without you even knowing!
Dang, that was easy, and they even know 10 years after you bought it!!!
From a professional perspective, they treat their customers right after the sale in my book.
This is important, because i just don't have time to remind them of their obligation and promise.
They know it, I know it, we are both happy.
How it should be.
Contributor
The combo 12V from Ridgid is only $120 plus tax. It includes both drill and driver, charger and two batteries, with a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty. Fill out the LSA, and you never have to buy batteries again. I've had my original 12 V LI drill over 7 years now, and have gotten two sets of FREE replacement batteries. I use it in my business, so my uses far exceeds what you will be doing.
Member
+1, I hate my 12V Bosch impact for the noise. As soon as I can it is getting sold and a Metabo 12V will replace which is not impact. For Cabinets use the smallest driver that will do the job.
Chris
Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening
Contributor
Makita has an Impact Driver that has Oil-Impulse Technology which utilizes oil to hydraulically drive the impact mechanism for lower noise and increased efficiency. Part of the 18v range of tools and is less than $180.
If you need to lower the noise for driving and don't want to wear hearing protection then consider one of these.
XST01Z
"If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"
Member
Home Depot raised the price a few weeks ago to $149 for the Ridgid 12v combo. My brother-in-law bought me one for $99 at Christmas to try it out. It is a fine combo, I use it regularly. For $149, I would spend a little more and purchase the Milwaukee as they have service centers all over my region. Home Depot still has the Makita 12V combos showing up for $69--my favorite 12v combo. A friend bought one a couple days ago at a Home Depot I previously cleaned out!
[OP]
Member
I currently have a 9 piece 18v Dewalt XRP set which is heavy so I intend to sell it and get a newer lighter set at some point.
It seems most of the 12v drivers mentioned are around 2 lbs (not sure about the new Bosch brushless) while the 3 speed 20v Dewalt I had my eye on is about 2.9 lbs. Does it really make sense to get a 12v driver rather than going with a 20v Dewalt which can be used for any job? The weight doesn't seem that much different but perhaps it does make a big difference. The 20v is much more powerful but I figured on low setting it should provide even less torque than the 12v drivers.
I'd prefer not to have a bunch of charging stations taking up space ... Just curious why nobody else is running the 20v 3 speed impacts for there woodworking projects...
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